1.
CHAUCER.
OMEN ben full of Ragerie,
Yet swinken nat sans secresie.
Thilke moral shall
ye
understond,
From Schoole-boy's Tale of fayre Irelond:
Which to the Fennes hath him betake,
To filch the gray Ducke fro the Lake. .
Right then, there passen by the Way
His Aunt, and eke her Daughters tway.
Ducke in his Trowses hath he hent,
Not to be spied of Ladies gent.
“ But ho! our Nephew, (crieth one)
“ Ho! quoth another, Cozen John;
And stoppen, and lough, and callen out,-
This sely Clerk full low doth lout:
They asken that, and talken this,
“Lo here is Coz, and here is Miss.
But, as he glozeth with Speeches foote,
The Ducke sore tickleth his Erse roote :
Fore-piece and buttons all-to-brest,
Forth thrust a white neck, and red crest.
Te-he, cry'd Ladies ; Clerke' nought spake:
Miss star'd; and gray Ducke crieth Quaake.
“ O Moder, Moder, (quoth the daughter)
“ Be thilke same thing Maids longer a’ter?
“ Bette is to pyne on coals and chalke,
“ Then trust on Mon, whofe yerde can talke.
IN ev'ry Town, where Thamis rolls his Tydo,
A narrow Pass there is, with Houses low ;
Where ever and anon, the Stream is ey'd,
And many a Boat soft sliding to and fro.
'There oft are heard the notes of Infant Woe, 5
The short thick Sob, loud Scream, and shriller Squall :
How can ye, Mothers, vex your Children fo?
Some play, some eat, some cack against the wall,
And as they crouchen low, for bread and butter call.
II.
And on the broken pavement, here and there, 10
Doth many a stinking sprat and herring lie;
A brandy and tobacco shop is near,
And hens, and dogs, and hogs are feeding by;
And here a sailor's jacket hangs to dry.
At ev'ry door are sun-burnt matrons seen, 15
Mending old nets to catch the scaly fry;
Now singing fhrill, and scolding eft between ;
Scolds answer foul-mouth'd scolds; bad neighbour-
III.
The snappish cur, (the passengers annoy)
Close at my heel with yelping treble Aies ;
The whimp’ring girl, and hoarser-screaming boy,
Join to the yelping treble, shrilling cries ;
The scolding Quean to louder notes doth rise,
And her full pipes those shrilling cries confound ; .
To her full pipes the grunting hog replies ;
The'grunting hogs alarm the neighbours round,
And curs, girls, boys, and scolds, in the deep base are
drown'd.
IV.
Hard by a Sty, beneath a roof of thatch,
Dwelt Obloquy, who in her early days.
Baskets of fish at Billinsgate did watch,
30 Cod, whiting, oyster, mackrel, sprat, or plaice : There learn’d she {peech from tongues that never
cease.
Slander beside her, like a Mag-pie, chatters,
With Envy, (spitting Cat) dread foe to peace;
Like a curs'd Cur, Malice before her clatters,
33 And vexing ev'ry wight; tears clothes and all to tatters,
Her dugs were mark’d by ev'ry Collier's hand,
Her mouth was black as bull-dogs at the stall :
She scratched, bit, and spar'd ne lace ne band,
And bitch and rogue her answer was to all ; 40
Nay, c'en the parts of shame by name would call :
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